Nellie1584

ive googled this loads of times and im still a little confused

i know to avoid paying tax on my earnings i need to remain abroad for an entire tax year but im not sure how many days i am allowed in the uk for holidays etc

i completed a P85 prior to my move and had a letter confirming a tax refund so the taxman knows ive left the country.

help gratefully received

Meow

It depends on 'connecting factors' but if your situation is simple you can spend up to 90 days in the UK during a tax year and still remain non-resident for tax purposes. This also depends on when you left the UK and staying out for a full tax year.


http://financialuae.me/2013/02/12/in...esidency-test/

Johnnyboy11

There are a few good flowcharts available online if you search for 'uk statutory non residency test flowchart pdf' for example KPMG.

[J]

silversilver

I'm now totally confused and not sure about how long I should go home for over the summer. I came out here on 1st of August 2012 then went home at Christmas for 12 days and Easter for 12 days. I want to go home for a month in July and then come back to Dubai in August to begin work again in September. As I came out in the middle of the tax year though I am completely confused about liability for tax and days. Any help would be much appreciated.

Johnnyboy11

Don't be confused, you are liable to UK tax and NI on all your earnings until you break UK residency.

Extract from HMRC6
8.5 Leaving the UK to work abroad as an employee
If you are leaving the UK to work abroad full-time, you will only become
not resident and not ordinarily resident from the day after the day of your
departure, as long as:
• you are leaving to work abroad under a contract of employment for at
least a whole tax year
• you have actually physically left the UK to begin your employment
abroad and not, for example, to have a holiday until you begin your
employment
• you will be absent from the UK for at least a whole tax year
• your visits to the UK after you have left to begin your overseas
employment will
– total less than 183 days in any tax year, and
– average less than 91 days a tax year. This average is taken over the
period of absence up to a maximum of four years.

Now, if you meet the above criteria, you can be granted a 'split year concession' meaning tax free status from the day after you leave the UK until the day you return. As long as you meet the visit criteria stated above, pro-rata.

[J]

Meow

MIGHT be granted the split year concesion - it's a concession Mr Civil Engineer, not a fixed rule, so it's important to point that out.

silver silver, the partial year liability is partially dependent on how many tax years you remain UK non-resident for tax purposes. If it's at least five full tax years then partial years become irrelevant and thus non-taxable.

On the other hand, if you stay out just a couple of years then partial years could be taxable. It depends on your specific circumstances.



Out of curiosity, why doesn't everyone check the rules before leaving the UK?

Millsyisland

How do they know if you spend more than 90 days in the country though? When you go through Heathrow they have a cursory look at your passport and I don't know whether they enter anything in their system, but when you leave again I'm sure they just look at it? If they did record anything there assumes a link between Border Control and the HMRC?

Must be missing something.

mikewot

I think the boot is on the other foot. If they suspect you've been doing them over it's up to you to prove that you've not been in the country more than 90 days. They always seem to scan mine on their little machine.
Only the airline staff, never anyone 'official.

scot47

For a long time there have been no checks on departures from UK Airports. In fact the State has no idea of who leaves and when !

silversilver

Thanks Meow, I 'kind' of did check the rules but didn't realise they were so complicated. I just thought if you stayed out of the country for two years you would not be liable for tax. I didn't take the time to think of partial years etc.. I think when you are moving to Dubai you have so many other things to think about -packing up, cancelling everything, saying goodbye to friends you don't actually look into things in the depth that you should. Thanks for info though